The present invention relates to a magneto-optical disk drive and, more particularly, to a magneto-optical disk drive of the type moving a bias magnetic field coil mounted on a cassette holder into and out of contact with the cassette holder.
A magneto-optical disk drive of the type described has mechanism for loading a cartridge which accommodates a magneto-optical disk therein. It is a common practice to provide the loading mechanism with a coil elevating mechanism of the kind rotating about a fulcrum which is defined on the base of the loading mechanism affixed to the disk drive. Such a coil elevating mechanism, therefore, moves over an extremely broad range, increasing the space which should be allocated to the loading mechanism. This obstructs the miniaturization of the disk drive. Moreover, a coil base carrying the coil thereon is constantly yieldably biased in a direction for loading a magneto-optical disk cartridge. The mechanical biasing force acting on the coil base is transferred to a cassette holder which is to accommodate the cartridge, increasing the force necessary for the cassette holder to be elevated. This increases the power consumption of a motor which is included in the mechanism for elevating the cassette holder and, therefore, the power consumption of the entire disk drive.